Yuccabloom: A Memoir of Meaningful Meanderings: Reebie Storage Warehouse, Chicago

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Reebie Storage Warehouse, Chicago

Built in 1921-1922, the Reebie Storage Warehouse in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago is a Chicago landmark and an excellent example of Egyptian revival architecture. Long ago, when I had an apartment nearby, I used to love walking by this building and savoring the details of this building's Egyptian motif. How beautiful, I would think, how incredible that we have such an architectural wonder in this neighborhood! Then I would think, how eccentric, how random, that such an architectural style would be employed in the construction of a storage warehouse. That never quite made sense to me, but it never diminished my love for this building.

Overview of Reebie Storage Warehouse, Chicago, IL

These look like tulips (flower detail), Reebie Storage Warehouse, Chicago, IL

Egyptian detail, Reebie Storage Warehouse, Chicago, IL

Beetle and flowers window detail, Reebie Storage Warehouse, Chicago, IL

I love the window detail, especially the blue beetle.

Column detail, Reebie Storage Warehouse, Chicago, IL

I love the detail and color of this column. It's very luxurious.

Twin statues of Ramses II, Reebie Storage Warehouse, Chicago, IL

It seems, from what I have read, that John and William Reebie, the founders of this moving and storage company, are represented by these two statues of Ramses II.

Ramses II and beetle, Reebie Storage Warehouse, Chicago, IL

Front entrance profile, Reebie Storage Warehouse, Chicago, IL

Column base, Reebie Storage Warehouse, Chicago, IL

Ramses II, Beetle, Reebie Storage Warehouse, Chicago, IL

I still love that beetle! The Egyptian decoration is just a fraction of this building; the rest of this building is very much your ordinary light-colored brick building. Still, the Egyptian architectural details are spectacular and they help to offset the simplicity of the brick exterior.